New Life NOT
by cryshardy
Summary: Escape for Area 51-CHECK...Hiding in plain sight in NYC-IN PROGRESS...Figuring out how to use power-SORT OF...Getting kidnapped by pink brain like alien and getting save by four turtle boys-WHAT THE SHELL? I guess I'm out of the frying pan and into the oven. What's going on with my life?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Yay! My second story! Of course, I know I should work on my other one, but I've contracted the disease many writers know well. It's called Writer's Block. So while I'm still trying to figure out how to word my Hardy Boys' story, I'll also be working on this.

This idea has been floating through my head for the past few months and I finally figured out how I want to write it. The character sorta popped up while reading other TMNT stories and took form all on its own. Hope y'all like it! :)

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New Life...NOT! CH 1

Muffled thuds fill my ears as I cower at the corner of my cage. Shivers rack through my body and I cover my mouth with my hands to hide my whimpers of terrors. The usual thoughts filter in my brain as I close my eyes. _Why? Why did my parents sell me? Why did those doctors experiment on me? Why do they hurt me? What have I done to get this? Why did they change me?_

_Haven't I been a good girl?_

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. No, I couldn't think like that. The doctors seemed to be able to smell fear. I need to think happy thoughts, thoughts to keep those mean doctors away from me. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thou- a giggle erupts from my mouth.

If the doctors could smell fear, wouldn't that make them part dog? Well, there is that lady doctor who's face is always scrunched up like she always has a lemon in her mouth, and she always seems to shake constantly. Like a chihuahua! She must be related to a chihuahua!

I shiver again, but this time with disgust. An image popped up in my head that sent me into both squeals laughter and shivers of grossness. If the lady doctor was related to a chihuahua, what if she married a chihuahua? And then they had kids? Ooh, those poor kids would be gross looking, with the head of a human and the tiny body of a chihuahua. They would always be yapping and running around and being completely annoying.

_**Slam! **_

I froze, my giggles caught in my throat. _No, no, no! _They were here, the doctors. I pushed myself further into my corner. _Go away! Please!_

There was movement of towards the side of the room I was in. Suddenly, the room's lights flashed on. I winced at the brightness, trying to block the light with my knees against my face. I could feel my ears fall flat against my head and my fur start to rise.

"Experiment No. 1273's mutations seems to be running quite smoothly, despite the complications that were earlier." That was Dr. Chihuahua Lady's voice. She was in here too? What complications was she talking about?

"Testing is ready, Dr. Meyer." another voice, a male's, announced.

Dr. Chihuahua Lady clapped her hands together and I could see here smirking slightly. "Now, shall we see how _it_-" I wince at the word, "-holds up to the experiments. Boy, get it out of it's cage."

I can see a young looking doctor, probably not even out of college, shuffle uncomfortably. He doesn't move towards the cage. I know I shouldn't be asking this, but why wasn't he following her orders?

"Ma'am?" he ask, wringing his hands together.

"Yes?" she snapped. I could tell that she was ready to put my through whatever they were going to put me through.

"Why are we doing this to her?" he demanded, his hands forming into tight fist at his sides. "She's just a little girl!"

Dr. Chihuahua Lady scoffed, blowing him off. "Well, if you're not going to do it, I guess we could find someone else to do this internship and kill you."

The doctor jumped at the threat, but still didn't move. It looked like he was contemplating on his choices. Save the mutated girl in the cage or save yourself. _Well, I knew what I would choose. I would save the person in the cage. I might not have had any parents to teach me right from wrong, but I have been watching these doctors for the past 10 years. And I know what I don't what to do ._

A sigh interrupted my thoughts and turned my head to the young doctor. His fingers ran through his sand colored hair with frustration. I could faintly hear him mumbling under his breath. It was with that, I knew what he had choose.

He was going to save himself.

I pressed myself again the bars of my cage, a growl rumbling deep in my chest. The young doctor started to walk over to my prison. He bent down, locking eyes with me. My claws unsheathed from the slits in my fingertips and I saw his eyes flicker over my hands. "Stay away from me," I hissed, arching my back up slightly without moving any closer to him.

"I'm sorry."

I blinked, startled slightly. Did he really say that? Mean that?

The young doctor unlatched the cage door, opening it up slowly. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." He kept repeating himself as he reached his hand in.

I hissed, swinging my arm out, claws connecting flesh. The doctor screamed, pulling his hand back as blood began to fall to the floor. "GET AWAY!" I screamed, arm back and ready to attack again.

Suddenly I felt empty space behind me. I was leaning to much into the back and with no support, I began to fall backwards. I braced for impact into the cold hard ground.

Yet it never came.

I yelped as someone grabbed me by the scoffed of my neck. Nails pierced into my skin as I was dragged out of the cage. I was pulled up into the air and spun around to face the pinched face Dr. Chihuahua Lady. I began to struggle in her grip, screaming to be released. "Let me go! Let me go!" I cried out, tears streaming down my eyes.

The woman smirked and began to walk to the door, ignoring my cries and pleas. She began to shake me around, trying to scare me some more, which I will say, she was doing a great job at. While being shaken, my eyes locked onto the young doctor, who was holding his injured hand. His eyes scared me more than the woman did.

His eyes held worry and a question for forgiveness. He was sorry for choosing himself over me.

I doubt I will be able to forgive him...ever.

And with that, my view of the man was cut off as the door to the room closed and the shaking continued, harder this time.

"_Miss!" _

What was that? Someone calling for me? I can't think with all this shaking. Dr. Chihuahua Lady's grip tightens and I can feel blood begin to trail down my neck. I scream in pain.

"_Miss, Miss, wake up!"_

I scream and struggle even more, claws out and swinging. "Let go! Let go! LET-

* * *

-GO" My hand shoots out, grabbing someone's throat. A strangled squeaked hit my ears, causing me to wake up more. I blinked before gasping. "Oh my God! I am so sorry!" I quickly retracted my hand from the flight attendant's neck, sheathing my claws back into my finger slits. My left hand moves up to my head to make sure that my cat ears were still flatten and hidden to normal humans.

"I am so so sorry!" I repeated, reaching out to steady the shaking woman.

She took a startled step back, almost falling over before I caught her arm. "No, no , no," she said, waving her hands in front of her. "I should have been more careful. You looked like you were having a pretty scary dream."

_More like a memory. A one of the worse ones. _I look around the plane that I have been on for the past four and a half hours. It was completely empty of other passengers. I stood up quickly, too quickly because I hit my head against the overhead compartment. "Frex!" I grumbled, using my made-up word. Stumbling out of my row, I rubbed my head to relieve the pain.

"Miss, are you okay?" the flight attendant asked, finally regaining her composer.

I nodded my head, reaching to open the overhead compartment to grab my backpack. Inside it help everything that I owned along with a few things given to me by the group of people who save me. "I'm sorry, once again. I really didn't mean to hold you guys up." I apologized, bowing my head.

The flight attendant smiled, waving me on. "It is alright. You just startled me and it really looked like you needed that rest. Go on, I bet the luggage is already coming out."

_Rest, yeah. I need it more than you might think. _I froze before cussing for real this time. "I totally forgot about K.R.!"

And with that I ran out of the airplane to go claim my pet cat, K.R. But not before pausing for just a millisecond as a chill ran down my spine when my foot hit the building's ground.

I felt something...something different. Like something was being hidden right underneath, everyone's noses. My eyes narrowed slightly, becoming cat-eye split, and a strange scent hit my nose. It smelt like a mixture of good and evil. I closed my eyes; the smell was pretty overwhelming. _Note to self: start training nose for strong strange scents like that. _

I took a deep breath; my eyes returned to normal hazel colored human eyes. I can't get to caught up in this at the moment. I've got to save my pet from the other people.

I started running once again to the baggage claim, trying to push that uneasy feeling behind me for the moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Man, I've had a busy weekend. From being really sick, to getting my laptop, to my ultimate favorite… meeting one of the writers for a TMNT comic! Sadly, I can't remember his name, but I got pictures of the artwork so I should be able to figure out who he is. Best Saturday that I've ever had.

Anyway, as you can tell, my OC is a cat. Let me tell you this readers, there is a reason that she's a cat. I won't fully tell you the reason, but part of it is that she tends to be very _very _clumsy. So with that, let's continue on with the story. I also don't own the song "When the Mirror Cracks". That's owned by Xandria

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New Life… Not! Ch 2

I could feel angry glares being shot at me as I walked towards the exit of the airport. Angry dark glares that were aim to kill if the saying "if looks could kill" was true. Of course, I should say something, but I didn't want to die. Not just yet; I'm way too young to die.

From deep into the cat carrier that I carried at my side, I heard deep scary growls coming from within. A chill ran down my spine; I was absolutely terrified of what was held within it. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I was bigger than the creature in the carrier. I've faced scarier things then this! I could do thing!

"Meow!" went the carrier.

I jumped, yelping and nearly dropping the carrier. Nope, nope, nope, I couldn't do this. I was going to die for sure. My life might have been hard, but there were moments when I had fun. Like the moments when the doctors would take all of us mutants outside for training. Or when they would try to pop of a joke, in which they would fail… horribly.

"Tessa!" came a whisperer from the carrier. More shivers, holy cow _he _was talking now. I was in big trouble.

"Yes?" I replied weakly.

"You forgot about me," _he _simply stated.

I winced, before moving the carrier in front of my face. My eyes locked onto the golden eyes of the white tabby inside. "I know, K.R."

"You forgot about me," the cat repeated, his eyes glaring straight into mine. It took everything in my power not to visibly shiver from fright.

"Yeah."

K.R. was silent for a memento before, "HOW COULD FREAKING FOGET!?"

"Shhh!" I hushed, bring my finger to my lips as I stepped out into the outside world. "You don't want to attract attention do you?"

He gave me a blank look. "You're talking to a cat in a crate. Who's the one attracting the attention?"

I huffed at him, lowering the carrier. Ignoring his whines of the sudden movement, I tried to hail a cab to take us to our new home.

K.R. was like me, also an experiment being held and mutated. From what he had told me, before our Big Escape and before his mutation, he was just a normal human boy in his early teens. Like a lot of the other experiments, he was also sold into the mutation program by his greedy parents. He told me that he was one of the first ones being tested with this type of green mutagen that the doctors were given by this strange man in a suit with a stone like face, and spoke in a weird version of English that made it seem like you felt your own knowledge of the English language leave through your ears. Of course, K.R. said that he heard about the man in the suit when the doctors were getting ready to experiment on him.

How it was, he said after overhearing a lot of discussions, the doctors had divided a group of kids into different sections, each section being tested by a different animal. Apparently the doctors wanted to find a way to create the perfect merge between animal and human, to create the perfect super human. A mixture of animal, strength, psychic ability, and human look.

K.R. was the first of a group of five others to be tested with a cats. Supposedly, the last animal you touched before getting splashed by the mutagen, you would get turn into that animal. K.R. was allowed to play with a white tabby, not knowing what was going to happen. A doctor then suddenly poured a canister of mutagen on K.R.'s head and the mutation occurred. The doctors weren't happy though, for when K.R. mutated, instead of still being human with cat like features, he had turned into a cat himself, size features and all. The only thing human he had left was his thoughts and ability to speak.

Though the doctors were very angry with the results, they kept working on the mutagen and were even experimenting of K.R. still. Eventually, the doctors thought that they had it perfect and decided to test it on its newest victim, which turned out was me.

I was actually the first subject to be successfully mutated how the doctors wanted. Unfortunately though, even my mutations came with bad results. I can't remember what happened though. Whatever occurred, it was so bad that my brain blocks me from remembering it. K.R. said it was so bad that the doctors nearly killed me when trying to stop whatever I was doing.

Of course, I didn't know all of that until I met K.R. when the Big Escape was happening about three years ago. Since then, K.R. and I have been on the run together. He's been like a big brother to me. From what I could calculate, he's about ten years older than me. So if I'm sixteen now, then he would be about twenty-six.

"Tessa?" K.R.'s voice interrupted my thoughts.

I shook my head, before trying to hail a cab again. "Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts."

K.R. chuckled. "I figured. Two taxis stopped and waited for you to get in. You didn't move an inch, so they left."

"Oops," this time I was able to flag a taxi down. I crawled in, setting down the pet carrier beside me and giving the address of the house location.

"You worried about starting this new life?" K.R. asked, cautious about the driver in front of us.

I nodded my head before looking out the window at the tall buildings. Since I moved the opening to face me, I knew that he was able to see me movement. I could sense him smiling at me before speaking again. "Don't worry, honey. I would trust these people helping us. They seem to know what they are doing, especially that blonde girl who's slightly older than you. You can finally have a life of a teenage girl."

"I can," I agreed, but added in a more whisper like voice, "But does a normal teenage girl have spotted black and white cat ears that thankfully blends in with her black hair with white highlights? Does a normal teenage girl have fur that covers her body? Or a black and white spotted tail that she has to hide by wrapping it around her stomach?"

K.R. winced as my voice go louder with each passing word. He waited for me to calm down before speaking again. "No, normal girls don't have that. But that makes you more special. You have something that others don't have."

"And that something was forced onto me," I stated.

Before K.R. could answer though, the driver spoke first, his eyes staring at me through the rearview mirror. "Miss? Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yes, I am. Why?"

"No, no, it's nothing. Just continue talking to your pet." He said quickly. I shook my head, sighing. I was getting a little tired of sitting. I needed to move.

"Excuse me, Mr. Driver?" I asked, tapping on his shoulder. I ignored the puzzled look that K.R. was giving me. "Do you thing you can drop me off here? I would like to walk the rest of the way."

"Umm, sure," he said, uncertain on why I would ask that. He pulled over to the side and I paid him. "To get to your location, you need to continue walking for about three blocks straight and then take a right where you will walk for another five blocks. The house should be in that area, all you need to do is look at the building numbers."

I crawled out of the taxi, "Thank you so much. I would have ridden the rest of the way, but I've been sitting for a long time and need to move around. Thanks again."

The driver nodded his head before driving off. He didn't go far though before he pulled back over to the side and rolled down the window. I quickly walked up to the cab to see what he needed. "Cause you such a nice girl who's new to New York," he said leaning over the passenger seat to see me more. "I think I should give you a heads up. There is a gang here that is very dangerous. They are called the Purple Dragons. Stay away from them and you should be fine."

The Purple Dragons? Interesting, but I wasn't really frighten much. "Thanks for the heads up!"

The driver nodded, driving off. I fixed my backpack on my shoulders and moved the carrier to my left hand. K.R.'s moans could be heard coming from it. Giggling, I started my trek forward to our new house. It was starting to get dark outside; it was almost 8:00 p.m. when I looked at my watch. Nighttime was always my favorite time of day. It was a time where I could finally become myself, without having to have my ears folded down constantly and my tail wrapped around my waist. I could finally show the true me without fear of being hunted down and sent back into a cage to be experimented on.

I was so peaceful that I didn't even know I started singing slightly. Ever since escaping, I discovered that I liked to sing and dance, doing either one at random times. And I was actually pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.

"Feel I'm in a dream, scary scenes, rush before my eyes. Wake up in a scream, this is real, where's my paradise?" I sang softly, stepping in time with the music in my head.

"Isn't that song a little dark to be singing it in a cheerful voice?" K.R. asked, interrupting my favorite part in the chorus.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, it's a good song to sing! Even if it is dark. Speaking of dark though, I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Did you sense that we weren't the only mutated things here when we touched the ground? That there was something deeper going on here?" I asked, turning right just as the driver instructed.

K.R. was silent for a moment. "So you also felt it, huh?" he finally spoke. "My psychic ability might not be as strong as yours, but yes, I felt it as well."

I nodded my head. "It was very strong, at least to me. It even affect my sense of smell."

"That is weird. We should be careful here until we find ou—" K.R. stopped his sentence suddenly and I froze with a tingle at the scoff of my neck.

My pause was only for a slight moment before I started walking again, as if nothing happened. I focused my thoughts, trying to aim for K.R.'s thoughts. This new psychic ability of telepathy was still pretty new and I wasn't completely used to it yet. But at a time like this, I don't think K.R. would mind if I just into his mind like this.

_Do you feel them too? _I asked, still walking like normal.

"_Yes, can you tell how many there are?" _came his thoughts.

_About four of them, all male, sizes of different variation. I feel that they are trying to herd us to an empty alleyway. _

"_Hmmm… okay."_

_Okay what? _I thought, puzzled at his comment.

"_Allow them to take you to the alleyway."_

_WHAT?!_

K.R.'s chuckling filled my head. _"I can tell that you've been sort of antsy all day. You can use this as a way to release that stress."_

_Are you sure though? I could hurt them!_

"_Think of this a practice of self-control. You need to find a way to take care of yourself and here's your chance."_

I moaned slightly, and began to allow the men behind us start to crowd around and herd me. _Alright, then._

The alleyway I was led into was dark and dank. I noticed on the side of the buildings were fire escapes with both ladders pulled up. A strong scent of garbage and sewage filled my sensitive nose and I struggled not to gag. I couldn't believe that K.R. wanted me to do this.

A hand pushed me hard on the shoulder, forcing me against a building wall. I struggled not to lose my grip on the pet carrier. I kept my head down, trying to focus my powers. I didn't want to hurt them, not too much anyway.

"Alright, lady," a lanky man with long greasy hair walked in front of me. He had his hand in his jacket and I knew he was holding onto something, most likely a gun. "Us, Purple Dragons, don't want much trouble. So just hand over the backpack."

I moaned internally. We haven't even been in New York for even a full night and we are already in trouble. And by the freaks we were just warned of. I really hope this isn't what my life if going to be from now on.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: Left y'all hanging, huh? Well let's continue, shall we?

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New Life… Not ch 3

_I was super annoyed. I mean seriously, can't I just walk a few feet without being hunted? Of course, none of these guys looked truly frightening, but I mean come on! I was __**just **__warned about them not even ten minutes ago._

I kept my head down, not wanting to look at them straight in the eyes. My ears, which were folded forward to blend easier with my hair, began to slowly fold back with annoyance. The lanky man with the long greasy hair placed his hand on the wall next to my head. He leaned in closer and I could smell hints of alcohol with each breath. His lips turned into a sickening smirk, showing off his crooked yellow teeth.

"Lady," he tried to speak in a smooth voice, unlike he did just moments ago. I could feel his eyes look over my body. I internally shivered at the gaze. He must think I'm cute, gross.

"_Try to find a way to throw them off guard," _K.R.'s voice filtered through my head. Mustn't have severed the connection between us before getting trapped. Good thing that I didn't.

I nodded slightly, even though K.R. couldn't see it. A sweet smile pulled onto my lips as I finally looked up. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?" I asked kindly.

The men blinked, taken aback by my lack of reactions to them. The dude farthest to my left, who was covered in piercings all over, leaned closer to the biggest guy of the group, who was six foot and had nothing but bulging muscles. Piercings guy then asked, "Isn't she supposed to be scared of us?"

I coughed slightly to cover up my giggles when muscle dude just shrugged and muttered an "I don't know."

The lanky greasy-hair guy cleared his throat, bring back my attention to him. "Um…I won't repeat myself again, lady. Hand over the bag."

"Why?" I cocked my head to the side, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Lanky greasy-hair guy groaned, shaking his head and taking a few steps away from me. I noticed his hand slip inside his jacket. I closed my eyes, focusing my energy, and when I opened them again, I knew that they changed more like cat eyes. I was ready for whatever he was going to bring out—what a minute.

New scents filled my nose. Familiar scents, yet there was something different about them. A tingle when down my spine as four new sets of eyes watched me. I could feel something else from whoever they were, but my attention was pulled back the Lanky Greasy-hair Guy as he suddenly whipped out a pistol.

I wasn't even startled by it, even when he placed it again my left temple. He looked like he was starting to become angry at me. I couldn't help, but let a smirk play onto my face. Maybe I should annoy them some more? Of course, I was going to be lectured by K.R. for hours about not being safe, but I actually liked them threatening my life. It made me feel alive.

_I kind of just scared myself just then. Being threaten made me feel alive? Those doctors must have messed with my mind in some way. _

"_Tessa, focus on the people in front of you," _K.R. said. Oh right, right, focus. _"And don't get over cocky, your body is stronger than most humans." _He added.

I folded my arms, looking straight at Lanky Greasy-hair Guy, and smirk still in place. "Um, is that supposed to scare me, or something?"

Lanky Greasy-hair Guy's mouth dropped, speechless, along with his fellow men. I could feel the presences of the four new guests change slightly to an astonished one. I could have sworn a heard a chuckle coming from the fire escape closest to me.

One of the Dragons to my right, one covered completely in tattoos, muttered, "Lady, you're insane!"

Finally, Lanky Greasy-hair Guy recovered from his shock and leaned over me. "Yes! Now hand it over!"

I shrugged, unfolding my arms and widening my stance. "Okay!" I said cheerfully, throwing a punch into his face and knocking him flat on his back. I pulled my fist back up, showing my eyes and smirking, "Now, who wants to go next?"

"Dude, that chick took down the boss with just one punch!"

"What the hell is she?" I winced internally. I wasn't a "what", I was a "who".

Suddenly, Muscle Dude yelled out "Get her!"

The four remaining guys rushed towards me. I yawned, pretending to be bored, before side-stepping to my left, dodging Piercing Man's punch. Allowing his momentum to keep moving forward, I timed it right to kick him straight in the jaw. I could feel the bone snap against my heel as my foot connected. Staying on my toes, I spun to face my other opponents.

Tattoo Man tried tackling from the side. Unfortunately, the poor guy didn't know what hit him when I duck in between his legs and he ran into the brink wall. I moaned in sympathy for him when he collapsed to the ground.

There were two Purple Dragons left now. I wanted to try and do a trick I've been practicing, but I would somehow figure a way to get Muscle Dude the same height as the other Dragon, who looked around my height of 5'5". Now how to lower Muscle Dude's height?

I spun, jumped, and duck all the punches and kick they threw at me. The sounds of panting caused my ears to twitch slightly. They were beginning to wear out, while I haven't even lost my breath. This was more like a warm-up.

Wait… lost breath… that's it!

"Hey, brawns for brain!" I taunted, blowing a raspberry at Muscle Dude. "Come and get me, idiot!"

Muscle Dude screamed in frustration, taking the taunt, and running at me. I bent my knees, waiting for him to get closer. Just before he could grab me, I quickly stood up and kneed him in the groin.

I began to laugh as his face twisted in pain and he started to collapse to his knees, making him the same height as me and Short Man. Short Man tried getting me on my other side while I was dealing with Muscle Dude. I could have cheered with happiness as my plan form before my eyes.

Instead, I jumped into the air, performing the best slip-kick ever.

Their heads reeled back and I could see speckles of blood come from their mouths. They collapsed like dolls while I landed, kneeling. Slowly raising up to my full height, I place my hand on my hips, pouting. "Come on, guys! Is that all you got?"

"Tessa," an annoyed voice said my name. I winced, slowly turning to the carrier. The carrier was tipped onto its side and in it held a very fuming kitty flaring at me. I could feel the Devil himself seem to cower in terror.

"Y-yes?" I stammered.

He beckoned me closer with his paw. Cautiously, I came forward and kneeled close to the carrier door. I could sense the guests' presences change once again to amazement and curiosity. They were wanting to know what was going to happen next. Well, more power to them because I knew what was next.

"YOU IDIOT!" I felt the sting of claws scraping across my cheek. I could heard gasps coming from behind me, but I ignored them.

"I told you to be careful!" K.R. yelled.

_No, you told me to practice my self-control and focus._

"_I would have thought that being careful would have been implied then, if you think you're so smart." _He thought back, having been able to read my own. I groaned and severed the mental connection, leaving my own thoughts to myself and same with him.

Wiping away the blood from my cheek, I stood up and looked deeper into the alleyway. "Well, maybe if I had some help from our four onlookers, I wouldn't had to have been so hard on my fighting."

"What?" K.R. asked behind me, puzzled. I ignored him and finally placed all my focus of the onlookers. My eyes narrowed and I was able to spot faint movements in four different locations. I pointed to each one of then slowly, signaling them out.

"Now, come out and tell us who you are, because," I let my ears open up for the first time in hours and pulled my tail from around my waist, "I think you four _boys _are the same as us. You have the same scent of mutagen."

Suddenly, a car drove by, its lights brightening up the alleyway. Five different colors popped out before they suddenly disappeared from sight.

Blue, red, purple, orange, and finally lots and lots of green.

I stood still, trying to figure out who they are. I was still trying to place where I smelled those scents before when K.R. cleared his throat. I knelt down closer. "Well, that was interesting," he stated.

"Yeah," I agreed, picking up the carrier, hiding my tail and ears, and taking a last looking at the fallen Purple Dragons. "Let's see if we can find our new home without any further interruptions."

* * *

"So this is the place, huh?" I asked looking up at the old townhouse. It actually kind of cute on the outside. It was four stories of faded red brick and step heading up to the front door. Iron railing was next to the steps with more stairs heading down to presumably a basement. A three sets of windows were on each floor leading up to a pointed rooftop.

"948 on Winston St. and 48th?" K.R. recalled off the top of his head. "Yeah, looks like the place. Got the key?"

I pulled out the key from a side pocket of my backpack and walked up the steps. Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the door and we stepped I inside.

"Oh, wow," I gasped. Setting down the carrier and opening its door, I walked forward in a dazed. From behind me, K.R. groaned as he stretched his stiff muscles. He walked up to me, weaving between my legs as I headed for the living room. My ears popped up to their normal upright position and my tail removed itself from my waist, swishing back and forth.

A giggle escaped my mouth as I bent to pick him up. "Holy cow! Holy cow, this is our new home!" I cheered spinning us around.

The house wasn't much. The entrance was narrow, with stairs heading up to the upper floors and a small hallway leading to the living room. The living room was small, but full furnished with a couch, loveseat, a TV, and everything in between. There was even small shelves next to the TV filled with DVDs. It also had a cat tower for K.R. to climb. Though small, the cream colored walls and natural lights from the window made it look big.

Connected to the living room was the dining room, also furnished, and a cute little kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and cabinets and noted that they were stocked full of food and seasonings and whatever a person needed to cook. There were also plates and cups and silverware ready to use. There was a door against the farthest wall, next to some counters, and when I opened it, I realized that it led to an alleyway and some fire escapes.

"Well, shall we head up stairs?" I asked, cuddling K.R. close. I took his purring as a yes and walked up.

We were greeted by a small bathroom along with two bedrooms, one that could be an office and the other as a guest room. The third floor held the master bedroom and bath. The master bedroom took my breath away. It had a queen size bed near the closet and a window seat on the other side of the room. The window faced the alleyway and had a fire escape which led up to the rooftops. There was also a bookshelf filled with many books that I've always wanted to read. In the bathroom, there was both a shower and a bath.

From what I could tell, there were two more staircase, one leading to the attic and the other leading to the rooftops. Alright, so maybe to a normal person it wasn't much, but to me and K.R., it was our dream home. We were on the run, staying in nothing but hotels or outside, for three years. This was finally a chance to live a life we always dreamed of.

A chance to finally have a home.

I started walking down the stair again, heading to the living room to explore again. K.R. jumped from my arms to explore on his own, heading to the kitty tower first. I was inspecting the DVD collection when I jumped at the sudden noise of a cell phone.

My ears twitch, pinpointing the source of the ringing. I finally found an I-Phone on the kitchen counter next to the sink. K.R. jumped on top of the table as I answered the phone.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Well, it seems like you found the house alright," a woman's voice came through.

A smile pulled at my lips as I placed the phone on speaker for K.R. to hear as well. "Ms. Hardy! It's so good to hear from you again!" I said.

"Tessa, I've told you time and time again. Please call me Crystine." Crystine playfully scolded. I could imagine her ruffling my hair in slight annoyance. "Ms. Hardy makes me feel older than I am."

K.R. laughed, joining in the conversation. "Ah, but _Ms. Hardy_, it shows our respect to you."

"Shut up, K.R., it's even weirder when you do it. You're older than me. So stop it." She laughed.

"Hey, hey, Crystine," I chimed in. "We love the house, thank you!"

A picture of Crystine smiling sadly popped in my head. "I wish we could have done better though. You two have been through so much hell. For so long. You two had to wait for three years till our agency was able to find a place for you to live."

I waved my hand in the air nonchalantly. "Psh, just saving us from that place was enough. This place is just a bonus. I love it!"

Of course, being on the constant move for three years was tiring. We couldn't stay in one place for long. We couldn't allow the chance for our trail to be picked up by those chasing us. K.R. and I have been all over the States in hiding. Finally, after three long years, Crystine's agency made our trail go cold and K.R. and I now had a chance for a normal life. Well as much as two mutants could have.

Hold on.

"Um… Crystine?" I asked "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," she replied. I stuck my tongue at the phone even though she couldn't see it. "I'm sorry, sweetie. What's your question?"

I clicked my tongue, trying to figure out how to word my question without it sounding weird. "Is there… are there… hold on. Do you know if there are any other mutants located in New York?"

The phone was silent, except for the sound of distant keyboard clicking. Crystine must be looking up information, we could hear her mumbling to herself. After a couple minutes of clicking and mumbling, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry, guys. From what I can see, you two are the only ones stationed here. Unless the others escapees made it over there, but we're sure we know where everyone is at. No one has made it off the charts," Crystine explained, typing could still be heard. "But I'll see what can dig up. Hearing that there could be more like you has piqued my interest. I contact you if I find anything.

"Till then though, Tessa, there is a package for you up in the master bedroom. In it will have information about you're new life and school records. I want you to read up on it, memorizing everything. If you need anything, my number in preprogrammed into the phone. Keep it with you always, Tessa."

"I will," I promised.

"And K.R.," Crystine added.

"Yeah?"

"Keep her safe; she's a special one." I blushed at the compliment, scratching my cheek. Apparently, I forgot about the claw marks K.R. gave me. I winced, getting up to search for a first-aid kit. From behind me, K.R. and Crystine were discussing something quietly. Must have been something that they didn't want me to hear.

Crystine then called out for me to hear. "I wish you to luck. Have fun with the new house. And read up, Tessa. I'll talk to you soon. Bye!"

"Bye!" I yelled with my head in a cabinet, still in search for a kit. My tail flicked in the air as I hunted.

"See ya, Crystine." K.R. ended the call and jumped off the table. His paws gently padded the floor as he got closer to me. I could feel a tug on my t-shirt as he tried to pull me out. I complied with his tugging and came out.

K.R. crawled into my lap, standing on his hind legs with his front paws on my face. He locked eyes with me, then leaned forward. A scratchy tongue started to scrap across my injured cheek. I closed my eyes, frowning. I knew he was cleaning my wounds, but if only his tongue didn't feel weird. My tongue was more human's than cat's, thank goodness.

The tongue went away, and I opened my eyes to be greeted by K.R.'s small smile. He touched his cold nose with mine before jumping off my lap and padding to the living room. I smiled, it looks like he was sorry for scratching me earlier. I knew that he was worried though; I should try not to be as cocky as I was. He's worried that he might lose me. I'm the only family he has left, and he's mine.

I stood to my feet, touching my cheek. I should apologize to him. Nodding to myself, I walked into the living room. "I'm sorry," I apologized quietly as I walked up the stair to the master bedroom.

I smiled when I heard him chuckle softly. Making it to the third floor, I headed to the bedroom. My eyes scanned for the package that Crystine talked about. Said package was laying on the pillow on the bed. I reached for it, surprised on how thick it was in my hand. All this information just for one person? That was crazy.

With prize in hand, I walked back downstairs the join my "big brother". I collapsed on the couch, a sigh of content leaving my lips. I didn't know couches could ever be this soft, and I've sat in a lot of couches in the past three years. I placed the package on the coffee table in the center of the room. The couch shifted a little as K.R. hopped on for a closer look. There was a piece of string keeping the package closed. My fingers trembled slightly as I reached to open it. My new life was just behind this string. It was a little scary.

K.R. placed a paw on my leg. I looked at him, a small encouraging smile was on his lips. He nodded his head. Yes, I could do this. With that thought, I pulled the string and poured the papers on the table. I picked up the first page, quickly scanning my eyes over the word. Taking a deep breath, I began to read.

"My name is Tessa Noel…"

* * *

Author's Note: Crystine Hardy, the woman who called Tessa and K.R. is actually my first OC from my Hardy Boys stories. This is her in the future, still working as an agent for A.T.A.C. (American Teens Against Crime) even though she's not a teenager anymore. My big idea is to kind of connect both my stories together with Crystine. Of course, Crystine will never ever meet the boys, she does find the thought of more mutants being out in the world interesting. She will know who they are, but not what they are. Crystine won't show up at all, only through a few phone calls and text messages. This story is about Tessa, not Crystine.

I hope you like this chapter!


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